Automation and alarm systems (such as home automation systems, fire alarm systems, and security systems) typically include one or more gateway entities (e.g., alarm panels) that receive information from various sensors distributed through a structured area. In response to particular types of input signals, the sensors or the gateway entity sometimes trigger an action by an output device. For example, a typical fire alarm system includes one or more sensors (e.g., smoke detectors or manually-actuated pull stations, etc.) and output devices (e.g., strobes, sirens, public announcement systems, etc.) operably connected to a gateway entity.
Conventionally, the gateway entity monitors electrical signals associated with each of the sensors for variations that may represent the occurrence of an alarm condition. For example, a variation in a particular electrical signal could represent the detection of smoke by a smoke detector in a corresponding area, or “zone,” of a structure in which the smoke detector is located. In response, the gateway entity triggers an alarm mode. The gateway entity responds to such a condition by initiating certain predefined actions, such as activating one or more of the output devices within the monitored structure and/or notifying an external monitoring company.
The gateway entity has limited processing resources, and accordingly can become overwhelmed or slowed if tasked to process data from many sensors. As more sensors are added to the zones monitored by the gateway entity, the demands on the processing resources of the gateway entity grow. In environments with many sensors, this increased demand sometimes requires that additional and/or more powerful gateway entities are deployed, which results in increased cost, complexity, and maintenance requirements.
Furthermore, under some conditions the performance of a particular processing task exceeds the capabilities of the gateway entity. For example, some types of detectors monitor a window for the sound of glass breaking, and forward an audio file containing an anomalous sound to the gateway entity. If the anomalous sound is subtle, or is on the threshold of being classified as the sound of glass breaking, the gateway entity may not have the processing capabilities to accurately or efficiently analyze the sound.
To address some of these problems, existing gateway entities can be upgraded to provide additional processing resources. This solution imposes an additional burden of purchasing and installing the additional processing resources. Moreover, the amount of processing power installed in the gateway entity is typically calibrated to a worst-case processing scenario (i.e., a situation in which processing resources are stressed to a maximum degree). During normal operation, those processing resources might not be required and hence remain unused.